Turkish PM Erdogan promises unity after winning presidential vote

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted to reach out to his opponents after claiming victory in the country’s first direct presidential election.

Mr Erdogan, 60, below, has been prime minister since 2003 and was barred from standing again.

Critics fear he will now try to increase the power of the largely ceremonial president, previously chosen by parliament. It is also feared he will install a puppet prime minister from his own Islamist-rooted AK Party.

Provisional results suggested Mr Erdogan had secured 52 per cent of the vote in the presidential election. His rival Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, backed by the far-Right Nationalist Action Party and social democratic Republican People’s Party, secured about 38 per cent. Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas won about 10 per cent.

Addressing supporters in Ankara last night, Mr Erdogan said: “I will not be the president of only those who voted for me, I will be the president of 77 million.”

The message of unity was in stark contrast to his divisive election campaign. He added: “I want to build a new future, by pointing out not our differences but our common values.”

Mr Erdogan is revered by some for bringing prosperity, but reviled by others as an increasingly autocratic leader trying to impose his religious views.